CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -
For the second consecutive match, third-year middle Katie Oakes (Lorton, Va.) set a new career high in kills with 21 while leading four Cavaliers in double figures in kills in the Virginia volleyball team's 3-1 (30-22, 26-30, 30-19. 34-32) win over NC State Saturday (Sept. 23) in Memorial Gym. The victory marked the 22nd consecutive time the Cavaliers have defeated NC State. With the win, UVa improves to 9-3 overall and 2-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Wolfpack fall to 2-10 overall and 0-3 in the ACC.

A night after setting a new career high with 20 kills in a 3-1 win over North Carolina, Oakes pounded 21 kills while hitting .381 against NC State. She also added six blocks, including two solo stuffs, to register a career-best 25 points. Fourth-year outside hitter Lindsay Osco (Houston, Texas) notched her first double-double of the season with 15 kills and 14 digs, while first-year outside hitter Lauren Dickson (Austin, Texas) recorded her second consecutive career high in kills with 16. Dickson also had four digs and a pair of service aces. Fourth-year Emily Perilli (Thompson's Station. Tenn.) also stepped for the Cavaliers and equaled her career high with 12 kills, 11 of which came over the final three games. Perilli also hit a match high .524 and added six digs, a block and an ace.

Fourth-year setter Emily Kirkwood (Tampa, Fla.) dished out a match-high 60 assists and also contributed four digs, three kills, two service aces and a block. Second-year libero Beth Shelton (Cincinnati, Ohio) led all players with 25 digs and added three aces and two assists, while third-year defensive specialist Melissa Caldwell (Houston, Texas) tallied 17 digs, two aces and two assists.

Keshia Raibon led NC State with 19 kills, while Chrissy Zirpolo and Jessica Williams both added 11 kills. Williams and Zirpolo had 14 and 10 digs, respectively, to post double-doubles. Setter Allison Davis had 35 assists, 23 digs, five blocks and four aces.

UVa hit .268 in the match with 74 kills, while the Wolfpack hit .158 with 55 kills. Virginia outscored NCSU 93-74. The Cavaliers held a 10-9 edge in service aces, while NC State led 80-77 in digs and 10-9 in team blocks.

The Cavaliers won the first game 30-22. Oakes and Dickson led the charge with seven and six kills, respectively, and UVa hit .298 as a team.. The Wolfpack evened the match at 1-1 with a 30-26 win in game two. NC State took an early lead and held off the Cavaliers, who whittled an eight-point deficit (28-20) down to three before Williams closed out the game with a kill. In game three, UVa out-hit the Wolfpack .298 to .000 and had 17 kills compared to nine for NCSU. Oakes had six kills in the third frame, while Dickson and Perilli both tallied four. The Cavaliers pulled out the victory with a thrilling 34-32 win in game four. The fourth game featured 18 ties and seven lead changes. Osco slammed eight of Virginia's 23 kills in the game. With the scored tied at 32-32, UVa's three seniors stepped up as Perilli and Osco put down kills off assists from Kirkwood to seal the win.

Virginia wraps up its three-match homestand on Tuesday (Sept. 26) when it hosts in-state rival Virginia Tech at 7:00 p.m. at Memorial Gym. The match is the second encounter of the Commonwealth Challenge. Virginia Tech won the first meeting 3-0 in Blacksburg on Sept. 15.